One More Tomorrow
by Vlad509
Summary: I left Vault 101 over forty years ago. I left a lot behind and began wandering. I mean, that's even what they call me. Alone, and wandering, my defining traits. But even though, I can't help but get involved in saving the world, with the help of unlikely allies.
1. Chapter 1

One More Tomorrow

 _The Wanderer_

 _Oh well, I'm the type of guy who will never settle down  
Where things aren't going well, you know that I'm around  
I fix 'em and I solve 'em 'cause to me it's all the same  
I help 'em and I save 'em they don't even know my name_

 _They call me the wanderer  
Yeah, the wanderer  
I roam around, around, around_

 _Oh well, there's Sydney on my left and there's Sarah on my right  
And Nova is the girl with that I'll be with tonight  
And when she asks me, which one I love the best?  
I tear open my shirt I got Amata on my chest_

 _'Cause I'm the wanderer  
Yeah, the wanderer  
I roam around, around, around_

 _originally by Dion_

 _rewritten by The Crazy Kid from Vault 101_

Night was falling, covering the land with inky darkness, broken by the glow of a scattering of electric lights. And near one of these lights, a fire burned slowly, with the carcass of a headless molerat on a spin above it. Rotating the spit was a hand, encased in once gray metal, pitted and discolored, having long since lost its sheen.

"That never gets old. I'll have to give it to Moira, it still works, after all these years." The figure moved slightly, accompanied by the hiss of servos, and leaned towards the carcass. He slowly reached forward and cut a slice of the animal off, "Here you go Dogmeat." The figure tossed the meat away from him, and a dog jumped up, grabbed the morsel and devoured it. He looked at his master, and let out a happy yelp. "I think I'll wait till it is a bit better cooked. I've eaten enough food raw in my life."

The figure leaned back against the rubble behind him and smiled. He looked over his makeshift campsite, shielded from the wind by several broken walls of a house. He was actually in what once was the second floor, though part of the first floor was buried in earth.

He reached over and dragged a large metal case, with straps attached to it, turning a large footlocker into a jerry-rigged backpack. Inside was a random collection of all sorts of things, but what interested the lone figure was several assault rifles. He removed his heavy metal gloves, and pulled out a small tool kit. In short order, he had broken down the rifles, and began using the parts to repair another rifle sitting next to him.

"It will be good to get Sydney working again. Have I ever told you how I got this rifle Dogmeat?" The dog did not seem interested in his master's tales, instead staring out into the darkness. "Well, it doesn't have a happy ending anyway. Nice gun though. Need to find a new silencer though."

Dogmeat began to growl quietly, and paced towards the edge of the floor, where debris formed a ramp up to the campsite. His ears twitched forward, and his master knew he was about to bark.

"Quiet Dogmeat!" he hissed forcefully. "Stay quiet." His armor did not afford him much stealth. The dog reluctantly shrank back, but remained alert, still growling. The wanderer slowly placed the rifle in his hands down, in several pieces at this point. He slide one arm into the locker, and felt around. And then, someone ran up the ramp, and was in the campsite.

A figure covered in a hodgepodge of metal and leather armor, with scrap sewed on without rhyme or reason, besides having the pointy things out. A heavily modified motorcycle helmet protected the head, if by modified you mean having spikes stuck to it.

"You're gonna die you meddling do-gooder!" The raider raised an assault rifle, but before he could fire, something tore into his arm. The sound of a train broke across the campsite. The armor encased camper stood to his feet, a strange rifle in one hand. The stunned raider looked a this arm, and found a large spike had pinned his arm to the crumbling wall behind him.

"You guys never learn." He reach over and non-nonchalantly turned on a radio. The smooth vocals of a forgotten crooner drifted across the wasteland. "The Wanderer...appropriate. Finish him off Dogmeat." The adventurer picked up his helmet, and placed it on his head. It hissed and clicked into place. The raider desperately tried to free himself from the wall, letting loose a barrage of profanity, as Dogmeat leaped on him, and ripped him apart.

"Get him!" someone in the darkness roared. Another raider in make-shift armor raised a rifle, and fired. The round hit the shoulder of the power armor, but only added another dent. The adventurer sighed and raised his gun. Another train whistle echoed, followed by a pained yelp as the spike found a leg. The raider fell to the ground, and then pulled out her pistol, and aimed it at the figure in front of her.

"I used to be quite the lady killer in my day, but that was a long time ago." He fired again, but only a loud creak and a jet of steam escaped the weapon. "Broke again...oh well." He reached for another weapon on his belt, when something crashed into him, and managed to knock him off balance.

Two figures grappled down the debris ramp, and landed in the dirt below. A large man, encased in metal armor and helm raised a hatchet, but before he could bring it down on the visor below, a metal glove clamped on his wrist. For a few seconds, the raider tried to bring the ax down, but the sweat on his face indicated no progress was being made.

"Power armor, very useful." The adventurer reached down and brought up laser pistol. "Also, laser pistols." He placed the pistol on the raiders chin, and squeezed the trigger. The head exploded as the ruby beam lanced through, vaporizing a good portion of it. The adventurer got back to his feet, and looked over at the other raider, who had pulled herself to one knee, and leveled a rifle at him. And then Dogmeat jumped her, and it was all over.

The ground beneath the wanderer exploded in puffs of smoke, and then something ricocheted off his leg armor. Another raider, wielding a large minigun approached, spewing rounds like water from a hose. He couldn't aim worth anything, but eventually you hit something.

"Back to the camp Dogmeat!" called the adventurer. He hurried up the ramp, sending a couple beams back at the attacker. Both went wide, but he wasn't trying to aim really. He walked up and ducked behind a wall. A chunk of brick flew past, and he knew the wall wouldn't last long. He reached down and grabbed another gun, a large one with a large drum, and a scope.

The minigun stopped for a moment, and it was enough. The adventurer leaned out, and lined up a shot. There was a loud crack, and a streak of blue shot across the dozen or so yards between them, and struck the raider in the chest. And then it exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the chest. The Gauss rifle lowered, and the power armor clad figure stepped out.

"Anyone..." His call was interrupted as a jump up from the darkness, and send a large hammer crashing into the power armor's breastplate. It left a much more noticeable dent. "Oh, that is not going to be fun to fix." The raider, pumped up on some drug, kept swing, actually managing to drive the adventurer back, until he was up against a table, where the radio and other miscellaneous items.

The raider raised the sledgehammer high, assuming he was about to crush the head of his opponent, and then a sharp pain shot through him. He looked down and saw a metal blade stabbed through a chick in his well-worn armor.

"You know, the best way to cook meat is on a stick. Once, this was called a Shishkabob, though I don't expect you to know that. You might be familiar with this though." The adventurer squeezed a lever on the handle of the weapon. A liquid squirted down the blade, and then a small bit of flame shot out along the blade. And the raider went up like a torch. Screams could be heard for some distance. The wanderer walked to the edge of the house, and pushed the raider off the Shishkabob, and rolled the corpse down the ramp. "I'll loot the bodies later, but first, I am finishing my dinner." He walked back to the fire, and sat down, then reached up and turned the radio off. "Done before the song finished. Excellent. Come on Dogmeat, you've earned some more food."

The wanderer sat down again, and cut off and tossed a bit of meat to the dog. He took some for himself as well, and continued to work on fixing his specialized rifle. He began humming a catchy song under his breath, while tinkering away. For several minutes it was peaceful and quiet. And then Dogmeat started barking.

"I don't think we ended up the right place Elliott." The wanderer looked up suddenly, and noticed two figures had appeared in front of him. One was a woman with blonde hair, who had just spoken, wearing a rather plain dress over a suit of silver, carrying a rather exotic silver weapon.

"Wait Dogmeat...Sally and Elliott, it has been awhile." The other figure was a man, older now, with a bit of gray in his hair, in white armor, which one might recognize as being pre-war American armor. "You haven't aged much."

"Vault 101? You look horrible. What's it been? Like forty years or so?"

"Thank you Sally. I was a little disappointed myself, but considering all the radiation I've been exposed to, and all the other things I've shot myself up with, I'm now a Ghoul. Really, It's amazing I wasn't killed in the Purifier at all. You don't look like you've aged forty years."

"Well, to be honest, I don't think we have. Whether it has to do with the cyro process, ot excessive use of alien biogel and eating alien food, I believe that our aging process, physically of course, has been reduced to approximately half. It is good to see you again Vault 10. We weren't sure what had happened to you, after your last visit."

"Why does no one remember my name?"

"Because it's such a cube handle. And because Three-Dog never used it. He kicked the bucket though, GNR hasn't been very good since. It is good to see you again. Is this your dog then?" Sally pointed to the animal, who had been hunched in the corner growling since the visitors arrival.

"Yeah,, Dogmeat. Not the same one you know. He's like the tenth one or so, and one of the most well-behaved. Calm down boy, these people are okay." Vault 101 turned back to his visitors. "I gather you weren't actually looking for me?"

"No, it is actually a rather long story," answered Elliott.

"Well, have a seat. Help yourself to some irradiated molerat meat."

"I think we will pass." Elliott did find a piece of rubble and sat down. Sally knelt down and began petting Dogmeat, who began to slowly warm up to the young woman.

"I don't blame you. Who wouldn't rather eat a worm?" answered Vault 101. "So, why are you here?"

"I'm glad you asked." Sally sat down, resting her alien rifle across her legs. "Well, as you know, we had been exploring around, trading what we needed from the Wasteland with alien epoxy and biogel, and exploring the ship. We managed to get back into the cyro labs, so Elliott could start making cyro grenades again. Once in awhile, we ran into some aliens, but we dealt with them..." Sally went on for awhile, speaking faster and faster as she went. Vault 101 listened to most of it. Elliott occasionally tried to interject, but wasn't able to do much. "And then, ten years ago, something really awesome and cool happened, better than Captain Cosmos for sure." Sally paused for more than a couple seconds to take a breath.

"So, is this the important part then?" asked the wanderer.

"Yes, and I'm still not sure exactly what happened," answered Elliott.

"Hey, a lot of interesting things happened before that...but I guess they aren't relevant to the current situation," admitted Sally. She was interrupted by a beeping. "There's been another surge." She looked at her wrist where a device, similar to a pip-boy, but smaller and sleeker. Instead of a normal screen, it projected an image into the air.

"Well, I thought having a Pip-Boy was boss. What is that?" asked Vault 101.

"Some sort of alien Pip-Boy. Can we walk and talk?"

"Can I get some of that epoxy to fix this rifle? I'll be done shortly, then we can go," replied the wanderer.

"You don't have to go with us," said Elliott, handing him the alien epoxy.

"Of course he is. He can't resist a challenge," responded Sally.

"She's right. So, what is the immediate problem?"

"We think an alien spaceship may have landed here, some time after the Great War. Which means, the alien threat may not be over. Can I see your Pip-Boy?"

"If you must, just don't' mess it up."

"Just need to add some things to your map." Sally tinkered for a few moments, and the Pip-Boy beeped and blopped a bit, and then she held the device away from her, and squinted. "Oops."

"Sally..." The wanderer let out a low growl. He looked up from his rifle, and shook his head.

"It's fine, it's fine. Here." She handed it back. "See, the ship is over here. And we are here, near as I can tell."

"You're a bit off the path, by nearly 200 miles. Your transporter thing not working?"

"It seemed to be working fine when we left," answered Elliott. "I have a theory though. I was afraid of this when we first made the transport." Elliott stood up, and walked over to the edge, and looked over the wasteland. "They must have a defensive shield, similar to those on the ship, to prevent you from just transporting aboard. Strategically, it only makes sense, if you have that technology, you would develop a way to counter it."

"I guess we have some walking to do," sighed Sally. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Got this rifle all fixed up. Thanks for the glue. I'm going to see if the raiders have anything useful. Apparently, they didn't appreciate me defending a few old settlers. I think this was the last of that gang."

"They clearly have no idea who you are." commented Sally.

"I like it better that way. Why do you think I ended up here, far away from D. C.?"

"Aren't you lonely? I get kind of lonely, with only Elliott around. That's why I visit Megaton and Canterbury Commons once in awhile. Visit Maggie, Harden, even Machete."

"I guess they are all much older now. Well, a bit of food and some ammo. Not bad." Vault 101 packed up in short order, extinguishing his fire, and throwing most of his belongings into the massive footlocker. He did keep his Shishkabob on his belt, as well as the laser pistol. He strapped the Gauss rifle to the back of the footlocker, but still relatively easy to access. The black rifle he kept in his hands.

"That looks like one of those special rifles, only a few in the rangers and other special ops had them," commented Elliott.

"This is Sydney. I picked her up in a gladiatorial fight. Called an Infiltrator I think." The wanderer looked a little wistful, and then turned to Sally, who was looking at the gadget on her wrist. "Where we heading captain?"

"That way," pointed Sally.

"I was thinking of heading that way. Come on Dogmeat, leave the mole rat alone, you've eaten enough." The dog left the remains of the molerat, and followed his master. The four climbed down the rumble and dirt around the remains of the house, and headed across the land, walking at a good pace. Vault 101 left his helmet off for the time being. He could barely feel the night breeze across his irradiated skin.

He wasn't sure what he thought of his transformation, but he wouldn't have asked for it. Some days, he wondered if he should have just sent Fawkes to turn on the purifier. But he felt it was his "destiny" to turn it on. He should have died. He didn't, and the transformation didn't begin till several years later. But he was sure, for whatever reason his change was delayed and slow in coming, that that incident had been the catalyst for the change.

Despite his recent lonely sojourn, it was good to have more company for awhile. The companions walked along long forgotten roads, and scraggly plants trying to grow in radiation blasted soil, and the remains of a once bustling civilization, scattered all over the place. The lights from his Pip-Boy, and Elliott and Sally's alien lights of some sort split the darkness, and sent most critters skittering away. The few that persisted in their attacks died quickly, mostly to his silenced gun, to prevent alerting more to their presence.

In the few occasions that they were rushed by more creatures than he could safely take out, the other two puled out their alien handguns and vaporized the beasts. "The Captains pistol. Taking good care of my gift?"

"Of course. I am the captain after all," responded Sally, looking over the unique gun's smooth design, before sliding it back into a holster on her belt.

"I still don't understand how you figured all this out. We were just lucky we managed to control the ship at all. Fortunately, the aliens have very simple controls."

"Right, I was going to tell you," answered Elliott. "Really, the reason we were able to figure this all out, and take control of the ship, comes down to one event. We found one consul, and Sally and I sat down to try to mess with it. Next thing we knew, these things came down over our heads, and there was a bright light."

"I know the feeling," interjected Vault 101.

"When we came to, we were still in the chairs. I didn't think anything had happened, but, things just started making sense."

"It was so cool. It was Fat City, we could understand things we couldn't before, use their computers, take control of the drones, not like with that device you gave us, but all over the ship." Sally became more excited as she went on. "we cleared up the rest of the aliens, and I think we have pretty much explored the whole ship now. You have got to see some of the places up there."

"We found ways to produce more biogel, ammunition, food...plenty. We certainly aren't hurting for caps selling that stuff," added Elliott.

"Huh...crazy." The wanderer just shook his head. "Wait...I hear something." The party stopped. They had entered an area that must have been a city. There were a lot of buildings, crumbled and falling down, none in very good condition. The wanderer stepped ahead slowly, sweeping the area in front of him with his light. His sharp hearing, trained from years of wandering the wastes, living by his wits and skills, and a good bit of luck, picked up more movement and growls. And then he saw it. A humanoid creature, on all fours, rushed from the darkness, snarling.

"Trogs...it would have to be trogs." The Wanderer raised his rifle and opened up. The Trog's head exploded, sending brain matter across the broken pavement behind him. The rifle was quiet, relatively speaking, and had no muzzle flash. But the trogs death cry was not. More creatures scuttled from the darkness, some even leaping from the buildings.

Being quiet was no longer an option. Sally's pistol was out, and unleashed a barrage of high energy blasts, ripping an arm and a leg from the closest trog. It spun across the ground, still screeching, its remaining limbs skittering across the ground. Elliott slid his familiar assault rifle from his back and opened fire, sending a barrage of rounds tearing into the oncoming trogs.

His first clip took the first to down, but he didn't have time to reload before a third slammed into him, sending him to the ground. He fumbled to get to his Atomizer, but the trog's strength and fury prevented him from grasping it. And then a furry tornado slammed into the trog, knocking it away. Dogmeat's teeth sank into the beast's throat, and ripped it out. Another trog charged towards the dog, but didn't get close when a shock baton slammed into its arm, and the resulting shock sent his staggering back, his muscles contracting uncontrollably. An Atomizer blast finished the job.

Vault 101 dropped his rifle, and pulled and ignited the Shishkabob, drawing his laser pistol with the other hand. He slashed the next trog in the chest, and then send a servo enhanced boot into its head. The next one took a laser blast in the face, and then decapitation. Another one jumped onto his back, and the weight of his pack and the trog sent him to the ground, on top of the trog. Another trog leaped onto his chest, but before it could sink its teeth into his unprotected face, its head exploded from a ball of energy that could only have come from a Disintegrator.

Vault 101 shoved the dead trog away, and unstrapped his footlocker, and stood up. The trog beneath it was about break free when his head was crushed. "You better not have damaged my Gauss rifle." He flipped the remaining gas off of his blade, and sheathed the extinguished blade. He lifted his backpack, and shook some of the gore off of it, then retrieved his Gauss rifle before setting it down. He raised it one one hand, and pointed it at an oncoming trog, only meters away. Firing a Guass rifle one handed is very inaccurate, not to mention dangerous. But this was the hero of the wasteland. The round slammed into the trog, and blew it in half, vaporizing some as it went through. It punched through the wall beyond, unleashing a cloud of masonry dust, and killed another trog beyond, before embedding itself in the ground beyond.

"It still works." Vault 101 dramatically blew smoke from the end of the barrel. "There is no kill like overkill, as they say."

After firing the shot that killed the trog on top of Vault 101, Sally found her gun knocked away by a charging trog. She managed to side step the attack, but lost her gun. Her pistol needed reloaded, so she reached to her back and pulled out her tertiary weapon. The curved blade slipped from the sheath, and slashed across the chest of the trog, leaving a trail of fog and vapor in its wake. The trog staggered back, and looked down at itself, and noticed gray frost growing from the wound. Sally smiled, and kicked it in the chest. A good portion of it shattered with the impact, and the trog was dead.

She turned and faced another trog. She took a deep breath, and swung the sword forward, slashing of both of its forearms, and the running it through, pinning it to a wall. She held it there for a few moments, as the creature iced over, and then she punched it, and it crumpled and shattered. She removed the sword from the wall, and turned around.

Vault 101 was lowering his Gauss rifle. Elliott was holstering his Atomizer, Dogmeat running about barking at several retreating trogs, off to find easier prey. Around a dozen or so trogs lay around them.

"Huh. That samurai guys sword..." commented Vault 101.

"Elliott made some alteration. I call it the Cyro-katanna."

"He was a brave man, but I always wish I could have understood what he said. Helped us out in the final battle though."

Elliott was kneeling down near one of the trogs. "What are these things? Looks kind of human."

"Yeah, they were, once, but they suffer from some disease. I have dealt with them once before, but that isn't a time I like to revisit. It is where I got Sydney though." Vault 101 picked up his rifle, as well as gathering his other belongings. "Come one Dogmeat, stop messing around. You don't want to eat that."

"What happened?" asked Sally, walking over, stopping to retrieve her Disintegrator on the way.

"I don't want to talk about it, at least not now." He tried to say it in as nice of a way as possible, but it still came out as a harsh shutdown. He looked up at Sally. "I had to make a decision with no good options, and I don't know if I ever want to find out if I made the right one. Could go either way. Can we leave it at that?"

"Of course. I didn't mean to pry."

"There are only a few things I won't discuss. I'll talk about how my first love kicked me out for political reasons, and how my mother and father died, but not this." He looked down at his Pip-Boy. "It appears we are near where I was before, but still a ways off. Considering the amount of radiation, we should go around anyway. It won't be too far out of the way."

"Alright, you would now better." added Sally. Elliott had stood up now, and was looking around.

"Maybe we should rest here, since we already cleared out the local populace, and some of these buildings will provide some shelter and protection," suggested Elliott. Vault 101 nodded.

"Good idea. There is still a few hours before sunrise. Wait...something else?" The three quickly faced outward, and noticed a few individuals had surrounded them while they had been fighting. The three raised their weapons, and Vault 101 couldn't remember if he had reloaded after the fight.

The figures were encased in armor and helmets, but the armor was rough, with visible seams, and multiple decorations, usually horns. Some had lights, which shown around them, and onto their fellows. They moved like clunky power armor. Vault 101 muttered under his breath. People wearing power armor this clunky shouldn't have been able to sneak up so easily. A second look revealed that not all had power armor, though their metal armor was similar in design.

They were carrying assault rifles, smgs, and what appeared to be shotguns, and several had very large bore rifles Vault 101 didn't recognize. In front of them, deeper into the city, one of the figures approached. He was carrying a laser rifle, with some modifications. Several other figures flanked what appeared to be the leader. And then another item of note struck the wanderer. The figures had power tools, with spinning blades and yellow casings hanging on their backs. The leader finally spoke.

"What business do you have here?"

"We are just passing through. Thought about camping here for the night, but all these bright lights are kind of distracting," quipped Vault 101.

"Funny." As he spoke, Vault 101 was pretty sure, that despite the muffled voice, it was probably a female. "I suggest you turn back and leave. Nothing good awaits you."

"I'm not in the habit of running."

"Oh, and who are you?" asked the leader. Before Vault 101 could answer, Sally interjected.

"Don't you know? This is the Lone Wanderer, the kid from Vault 101, the hero of the wasteland.."

"Sally..." growled Vault 101 under his breath.

"Really?" She seemed to think for a second. "Well, our leader would like to speak with you. Please come with us. We will escort you. Would you mind lowering your weapons?"

"That seems foolish."

"Alright." The leader set her rifle down, and removed her helmet, revealing a young woman with a dark complexion and dark black hair. "Do I look familiar?"

"Vaguely...have I met you before?"

"No. I am Captain Josephine, one of Lady Marie's top lieutenants. I ask again, will you accompany us. Of you are so determined to go this way, this is the safest way." Vault 101 looked her over. He considered himself a good judge of character. She seemed honest. Her face was one that seemed unmarred by the wastes and terrors of the world.

"Did you say Lady Marie?"

"I did."

"We will accompany you."

"I thought you wanted to avoid this place?" hissed Sally.

"Call it morbid curiosity. I guess knowing his better than spending a life regretting." The leader retrieved her rifle, but left her helmet off, and turned and something to those next to her. Soon, a small party was heading through the city. The three visitors and Dogmeat were in the center of the force. The leader, Josephine, stayed next to them, but still towards the front. She had sent a couple without power armor ahead.

Within about twenty minutes of silence, broken by the constant hiss of servos and clanks of armor and weapons, they arrived a secured gate leading to a tunnel. Two of the company opened the doors, leading them into the dark damp irradiated subway tunnels.

Just inside was an old train, rusted, with plates welded on it. It had no aesthetic glory, but looked relatively sturdy. The others began getting onto the vehicle. Sally looked hesitantly at Elliott, and then Vault 101. He just shrugged and got on. There was a whir, and some loud clanking in the front, and then the train began to move. It reached a pace a bit faster than walking, and headed down the tracks.

Sally was sure it was going to derail at any moment. The loud clanking continued nearly constantly, with only a few breaks. Elliott looked ahead, past where Josephine and two others were sitting in the car they were in. Two of the party where cranking up and down on a handcar, but there were other devices hooked up around it.

"Handcar powers several generators, they power the wheels," Josephine spoke up. "Clunky, but it works."

"Who are you?" asked Sally.

"Us? Why, we are the citizens of the Pitt, more specifically the 5th Scout Raiders. Don't laugh Vault 101. A lot has changed since you were here."

"Has it? I was afraid it had just gotten worse."

"I guess you will have to judge for yourself." The remainder of the trip passed uneventfully. The raiders spent most of the time playing cards, cleaning their guns, and insulting each other. They nearly dissolved into fights, but Josephine shut them down with brutal efficiency. Soon, they disembarked, and left the tunnel. Bright light lanced from above, but only in the patches away from the thick smog. It was the following day, early in the morning. The most noticeable feature was the constant sound of pounding presses, which were constant and saturating.

As soon as they left, they were met by more of the garrish citizens of the Pitt. In the center was the leader, in power armor, which actually looked nice and clean, though still very tribal in design. She looked nearly identical to Josephine, but older, with streaks of gray in her hair, and lines on her face. She stepped right up to the wanderer, and looked him over.

"The last teddy bear you got me smelled horrible. Where did you find it? The stomach of a mirelurk?"


	2. Chapter 2

One More Tomorrow

Part 2

 _Some people say a man is made outta mud_ _  
_ _a wastelander's made outta muscle and blood_ _  
_ _muscle and blood and skin and bones_ _  
_ _a mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong_ _  
_ _you load sixteen tons, what do you get?_ _  
_ _another day older and deeper in debt_ _  
_ _saint peter don't you call me 'cause i can't go_ _  
_ _i owe my soul to the company store_ _  
_ _I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine_ _  
_ _i picked up my steel saw and i walked to the mill_ _  
_ _i smelted sixteen tons of dirty scrap steel_ _  
_ _and the raider boss said "well, a-bless my soul"_ _  
_ _you load sixteen tons, what do you get?_ _  
_ _another day older and deeper in debt_ _  
_ _saint peter don't you call me 'cause i can't go_ _  
_ _i owe my soul to the company store_

 _originally by Tennesse Ernie Ford_

 _rewritten by an anonymous slave in the Pitt_

"A Yao Guai actually, sorry, the toy emporium was closed due to radiation and ghoul infestation."

"My mother never said you were such a smart-alec. Or a ghoul."

"I wasn't...so, you're Marie. A bit bigger than when I last saw you."

"That happens after forty years." The woman motioned behind her. "Come back to Haven, we can talk more there. I need your help."

"Oh? And what makes you think I will help you?" asked Vault 101.

"Just hear what I have to say. Things have changed since you were here, mostly for the better." She turned and started walking away. "Josephine, I believe Margaret wanted to speak to you, down in the machine shop."

"Of course Lady Marie. I will head over as soon as I have seen to the 5th Scout Raiders." Josephine and most of the raiders left them, save for two, wearing metal armor, but not power armor, armed with assault rifles and SMGs, which appeared to Lady Marie's guards.

Vault 101 only vaguely recognized his surroundings. He was sure that more of the city had been reclaimed from the trogs and wildmen. The travelers looked up at the smoke and haze that drifted constantly overhead. Flaming barrels and electric lights were everywhere. Vault 101 did notice numerous places where there was fresh masonry and metal plates welded to frames.

The familiar entrance to Haven appeared shortly. Vault 101 noticed a group of laborers patching a hole in a crumbling wall. They were not wearing the skimpy and downgrading slave clothes of before, but ragged pre-war and leather clothing. As they passed, the workers stopped and acknowledged Lady Marie with short bows, and she nodded back.

"Not exactly Fat City," whispered Elliott to Sally.

"Nowheresville, with radiation and smog," she replied.

As they reached the gate, Vault 101 was surprised by several changes. Haven had a proper gate, not just scaffolding and debris, and it wasn't guarded by raiders. Two laser turrets sat above the gate, and a Mr. Gutsy and a Sentry Bot patrolled the top of the wall. As they approached, the two guards went and unlatched and swung the gate open. Inside, the same sculpture and burning fires was waiting, but it was not alone.

Multiple other sculptures of scrap metal dotted the area, of trogs, raiders, auto-ax armed slaves, soldiers in power armor, even a deathclaw. But the most shocking was a fenced in area with a playground, with swings, teeter-totters, slides, and a jungle gym. Several children ran about, of varied ages, watched over by two women. Both of them looked very similar to Josephine, though with varied hairstyles and dress. One was dressed like a raider, with strangely dyed hair and an erratic haircut. The other wore a pre-war dress, in pretty good condition, besides the multicolored patches that adorned it, and a very plain bun on her head.

"Are those ankle-biters yours?" asked Vault 101.

"No," answered Marie in a slightly bitter tone. "Hello, Amy, Beth," she called to the two women. The one with the bun nodded, and the other called back.

"Lady Marie, I need to speak with you."

"Shortly, I have guests."

"I have a report about Cutter's movements."

"Join us inside shortly then." The other woman nodded, and turned back to the children. "Let's go."

"Do you have some irradiated water? This smog is drying my throat," commented Vault 101.

"Purified water actually. Water condensers on the roof." Lady Marie led the small party into Haven. It was much the same as Vault 101 remembered. It did seem to be better lit and a little cleaner. It was near palatial compared to where he had been, which was any decrepit building he could find in the wasteland. She led them to a medium-sized room near where Lord Ashur's office had been, which was presumably now Lady Marie's.

It was furnished with old and worn furniture, but rather good condition, with patches of leather and scrap material covering holes in the upholstery. There was a bookshelf, which had a few books, which were readable at least, and some holotapes. Several operating electric lamps provided light, and a window overlooked the city.

Lady Marie walked to the window, and stared out. There was a slight hiss as she put her hands behind her back. "Please wait outside, and make sure to let Beth and Josephine in when they arrive." The two guards nodded, and exited the room, closing the door behind them. "Make yourselves comfortable. There is water over there." Marie motioned to a fridge, sitting in shadows in one corner. Vault 101 walked over, and retrieved a bottle of water, he then looked over at the other two, who nodded and declined. He took a long drink, and then turned to face Marie.

"Things are different. It seems your father really did strive to make a better place." Marie just nodded, and let out a small sigh. Sally and Elliott gingerly took seats on a couch, and Dogmeat actually went and laid down, nuzzling Sally's feet.

"When I was young, my parents tried to keep me sheltered from everything. But, since I was going to take over, when I got older, I began to learn more of this city. To be honest, for a long time, I didn't think much of my father. But when he died, when I was 22, and I had to take that responsibility, I understood how hard it really was." She turned and faced the others. "You may not think much of it, but it is my home, and I have crossed far too many lines to give up on it yet. There may be far nicer places in the wasteland, but they haven't faced what we have."

"So, is there a cure then?" asked Vault 101 quietly.

"We have developed some of the best anti-radiation medication, and unlocked so many secrets of our genetic code, but a cure eludes us."

"But the children..."

"An end run, a temporary solution. You may have noticed the similarity between me and some of the woman around here...they are clones, and also immune, like me."

"Your parents...cloned you?"

"It didn't happen till after I took over. And it works. Most of the children born from my clones are also immune."

"Most...but not all?" questioned Sally.

"I said I had to cross a lot of lines..." Marie fell silent for a moment. "The tests performed on me, as careful and slow as they were, rendered me sterile."

"Your mother, Sandra, is she still alive?"

"Yes, she is in the lab, working herself to death trying to get a cure before she dies, with Margaret. She isn't doing well, wheel-chair bound, prone to emotional swings...you can meet her later. If you were wondering, the clones are as free as anyone here, more even, since they are immune, though they do age at twice the rate. The ones you met are only 12 years old, the second set. The first group are 18 years old, but are biologically around 36-40 years old."

"Cloning...there aren't many scientific accomplishments that can surprise me anymore. Why do you need my help."

"Well, it is related to the clones. I..." Marie was interrupted by the door opening, and Josephine and Marie entering. Josephine had removed her power armor, and wire leather armor instead. Her laser rifle still hung from her back, and a pistol on her hip. Amy was with her, and SMG hanging from her belt, and a bottle of Nuka-cola in her hand. "I was about to explain the problem to our guests. You had a report on Cutter, Amy?"

Amy flopped unceremoniously into a chair, and then propped her legs up on a nearby end table. "Yes. There was an attack earlier today, near the Forge."

"The Forge..." Lady Marie bit her lip. "They attacked through uncontrolled territory I assume?"

"Yes. But, it probably is safer than going the short way, with all the defenses we have. Not many trogs left."

"Casualties?"

"One worker was killed by a stray bullet, and several machines were damaged. Scott will have his work cut out for him, fixing some of the bots. Several of Cutter's raiders were hit."

"Yet another probe," commented Josephine. "He is wearing us down, and he knows he has time on his side. We need to take decisive action."

"We don't have the forces," Lady Marie snapped. It was apparent this was a conversation that had occurred previously. "Sorry...but I haven't changed my opinion."

"Maybe we could free some more slaves," suggested Josephine.

"The last raid cost us some of our best, and the slaves we freed were in such poor condition, some died anyway, and none can fight, and they can barely work, at least for the time being. It will just speed our demise, and Cutter will just capture or buy more," countered Amy.

"We can't just do nothing...that won't help morale or the fight," Josephine shot back. "How can you sit there non-nonchalantly and sip cola?

"Stop it, both of you." Lady Marie turned and faced the room. "As you can see, we have a problem."

"Cutter? And who would he be?" asked Vault 101.

"He was one of the last slaves to fight his way through the arena. As you know, very few survived, but he made it. My father stopped the fights several years before his death. After that, he began recruiting workers to become raiders, those that could fight well. Cutter was a skilled fighter, and a tactician. He was one of my trusted Captains."

"His views on the city's future didn't match yours," stated Cutter.

"Yes. As time went on, he became more and more antagonistic. Five years ago, it came to a breaking point. He wanted Lydia, one of the oldest of my clones. She was only somewhat interested, but turned him down, when she discovered he was only interested in having offspring, and didn't love her. When I refused to force her, for obvious reasons, he took it as the last straw, and left with a good number of the raiders, and kidnapped some workers. Since then, the Pitt has been at war."

"Well...that is hardly a big tickle." Vault 101 shifted position. "And you want my help stopping it. I understand why of course, I did nearly single-highhandedly stop the Enclave..."

"Why do you hesitate? We have made such progress. You aren't the type of person to let that all fall apart, after all you did to help the Pitt before."

"There is another problem, which is why we are here," interjected Sally. "There are aliens nearby, and it could be trouble, for the whole earth."

"Aliens? Are you serious?" laughed Amy. "Like little green men, with ray guns?"

"Something like that," said Elliott, a little anger in his voice. He pulled out his Atomizer and fired at the ceiling. Josephine's mouth actually dropped open when the blue bolt of energy blasted a whole in the plaster. "They aren't friendly, and this could be a major threat."

"Well...Vault 101, you fought aliens too?"

"After I left the Pitt, yes. Sally and Elliott live on a mothership in orbit, and found another ship, which apparently is somewhere west of here, by around 200 miles."

"I understand that a threat to the planet is obviously more important than one city...how long has this ship been there?"

"Well..." Sally looked at her feet. "Like, 150 years...may have been in orbit longer than that."

"In that case, help us, end this war, and we can help you with the aliens."

"Intriguing..."

"Are you considering this seriously?" asked Elliott. "This doesn't seem like a very nice place."

"Oh, you don't like us? A shame, you have such a classy chassis..." said Amy, with a bit of a purr in her voice. Josephine cast her a disproving look, and Elliott looked a bit embarrassed.

"I am," continued Vault 101. "Not long ago, I said this was one part of my life I didn't want to discuss, but yet here we are. It is much better than it was, and I'm not letting Lady Marie refusing to cross one more line destroy this city. I guess I am just addicted to saving the day..."

Before Vault 101 could continue, there was a loud and close explosion. Nearly everyone in the room jumped to their feet. Dogmeat remained on the floor, as unperturbed as his master. The door flew open, and a raider rushed in, gasping for breath.

"Cutter's forces have attack near the gate to Haven. A missile hit one of the laser turrets."

"That explosion was rather close," commented Josephine. "Are the defenses holding?"

"Elizabeth and Jetfire said the defenses are holding, but this is a rather aggressive probe. It might be something more."

"Understood. Amy, rally as many fighters as you can find, and head over to support the front line. I'm going to the roof to observe, Josephine, come with me."

"We'll join you. If I'm going to save this city, I want to see what is going on." Marie just nodded, and the meeting broke up. Lady Marie and her ersatz entourage headed up a staircase that had once been elegant, but now had rotting carpet and decaying walls. Vault 101 had seen many views in his life. Some of them were very beautiful, despite the irradiated land and crumbling buildings. But this view was nothing like that. There were massive chimneys belching fire and smoke, and many ugly buildings. At least the buildings seemed to be sturdy and intact.

Not that far away, only about 100 yards or so from the gate of Haven, in a rather remodeled version of Uptown, was a makeshift wall, with multiple turrets, several Sentry Bots and Mr. Gutsies, interspersed with raiders in metal armor, and a few in power armor. To call it a wall was a bit of a stretch.

"Our defenses. Most of it wouldn't be possible without Scott, who you'll meet soon enough."

"How did you get so many robots?" asked Sally.

"That is Scott's doing, and years of salvage. Nowadays, age limits his direct work, but he has trained several workers, and a couple of my clones to help him."

Vault 101 walked a bit closer to the edge and scanned the area. Groups of raiders, some in metal armor, no doubt manufactured in the pit, but many in more standard raider armor, popped in and out of the rubble of the Pitt, and peppered the wall with gunfire. He recognized weapons of all types, SMGs, multiple styles of handgun and revolvers, and shotguns and a variety of rifles, mostly assault.

Any raider who stayed in the open for too long was ripped apart by laser fire from a sentry bot or turret. Down on the wall, Captain Elizabeth, one of the clones in charge of the wall defense, was getting frustrated. A Mr. Gutsy near her jerked back suddenly and let out a spray of sparks. She grumbled under her breath.

She popped up and fired her pistol, sending a projectile streaking out. It left a trail of smoke behind it, and actually gained speed before slamming into a wall, sending chunks of concrete flying. It didn't hit any of Cutter's raiders though.

"Give me your rifle," she called to a nearby raider, standing up.

"I don't think you should stand up Captain Elizabeth, especially without your helmet..."

"Your rifle," she said emphatically, taking it out of the raider's hands. She put it to her shoulder, and slowly and deliberately pulled the trigger. There was a loud deafening crack, and a raider across the way pitched over, a massive wound opening in his chest. A raider behind him went down as the round tore into his stomach. He doubled over in pain, trying to hold himself together. He didn't get to die mercifully like his compatriot.

Her second shot took off a raiders head, one who was not expecting to be shot. The bullet went through the wall behind him, but Elizabeth couldn't see if it hit anyone else. She handed the rifle back to the raider.

"It's out of ammo. Probably wasted your first two shots." She pulled out her pistol and emptied the rest of the magazine into the raiders. There weren't any more confirmed kills, but several went down. The attack petered out nearly as suddenly as it began. Besides the one rocket that took out a laser turret, it had little effect. There were a few wounded, and several bots had been taken down. Hopefully, they could be repaired. Many spare parts were hard to find, and difficult if not impossible to make.

"That was an impressive rifle...I don't recognize the sound," commented Vault 101.

"A creation of our own, developed by some of our workers. With energy weapons in short supply," Lady Marie said, motioning to the Gauss rifle on the wanderer's back, "I wanted a rifle capable of easily piercing metal armor, powered, or not. That was the answer."

"Must be difficult for a normal person to fire," added Elliot. "Even the standard sniper rifle is difficult to use accurately without training and proper form."

"You can't use it without power armor, especially the way it is designed," said Josephine. "If we added a bipod, and a longer barrel, maybe more recoil dampers, it could be, but we wanted it to be small in size. It uses a .577 caliber round, but there is a lot of charge behind it. It only holds four rounds, the in the clip, and another in the chamber."

"What sort of recoil dampening are in effect?" the former medic asked.

"First of all is the slots in the end of the muzzle..." Josephine was interrupted by Lady Marie.

"You can talk about firearms later. Right now, I want to go to the Machine Shop and talk to Scott. See about fixing the laser turret. That lucky shot could be devastating."

"I'm going to go talk to Elizabeth, and then check with Beth." Amy then turned and headed over to some scaffolding along the side of Haven, and made her way to the courtyard below.

"Amy is a little...cranked, all the time. But she does care for her children. The Machine Shop is nearby." Lady Maire walked towards the door leading into Haven, and kept going without looking back. Vault 101 looked back at Sally and Elliott. He noticed Josephine was no longer with them.

"Shall we then?" asked Vault 101.

"No harm in checking it out. It is rather impressive they have such advanced defenses," Sally said, motioning to the laser turrets.

"More than you know. Clearly the doing of this Scott. I'm going to stay and help. You obviously don't have too, but let me know if the alien situation changes. I'll do whatever I can."

"I don't think there is any hurry. The spaceship will be there when we get back. What do you think Elliott?"

"I think these people can use all the help they can get." Vault 101 nodded to Elliott and Sally, and then turned towards the door.

"Come one Dogmeat." They hurried down the stairs, and found Lady Marie waiting for them. She led them wordlessly through a side door, and out of Haven. There was a sort of tunnel formed by welded pieces of fence and shipping containers, that disappeared into several more decrepit buildings. Lady Marie opened a panel on the wall, and threw a large switch. A secure metal door unlocked and opened, with a familiar hiss of hydraulics and whir of electric motors.

Inside appeared to be another maintenance room often found in subway tunnels. It opened up into what appeared to be an underground lab. It was a very familiar type of place, even though Vault 101 had never been there before. He looked up at the wall and noticed a faded painting of a familiar insignia.

"Robco...well, that explains the robots," he commented.

"It appears this was once a Robco facility, yes. The building above is pretty gutted, and looted clean. There actually wasn't much here, but there were some machines, too large to be carried off. The rest, we built up," explained Lady Marie. Sally and Elliott were not as impressed as most Wastelanders would have been. It didn't exactly compare to an alien spacecraft.

Vault 101 had seen far to much to be surprised, but he could appreciate the difficulty of getting such an operation running. There were multiple machines of all sorts, test stands, standard machinery, like lathes and drill presses, and a good many blue vises. There were several tables with the carcasses of robots of several varieties. The smell of solder and oil and greases of all sorts was ever-present.

"This is rather extensive." Vault 101 looked over and saw a woman with dark hair, very similar to Josephine except in styling, wearing a lab coat working standing over a table. She looked up, and began walking over when she saw them.

"We couldn't have done it without Scott." Lady Marie turned to the approaching woman. "And this is Margaret, Amy and Josephine's sister. Do you know where Scott is?"

"He is...right over there..." Margaret pointed to a man, hair graying, in the twilight years of life. He walked towards them easily though.

"Lady Marie...I hear there was another skirmish."

"Yes. One of the laser turrets was taken out. Missile shot. Can you repair it?"

"After taking a missile, doubtful, without scavenging three other turrets. I could replace it with a missile turret, or perhaps create a dummy turret, so they think we have replaced it."

"Alright..."

"If this war continues, and we don't get more salvage, I may not be able to keep all these robots operating much longer."

"Well, the last team salvaged something I think that will help." Lady Marie motioned over to the newcomers. Scott looked up and scanned them, his eyes resting on the power armored ghoul. He rubbed his temple.

"And who are they?"

"Vault 101, he tried to kidnap me once but lost the nerve...not that I am complaining, and his associates."

"Vault 101...the Vault 101..." Scott stopped for a moment. "I did not expect to see you again, especially not here."


End file.
